I disliked Tony Kaye’s Detachment pretty much from the start--it doesn't help that the filmmaker never stops goading the audience to care, Care, CARE about it. The movie, starring an intensely focused Adrien Brody as a long-suffering substitute teacher, means to be a wrenching, minor-key lament on the plight of education today. I’d call it depression porn. What constitutes depression porn? ... more >
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Splice
Filled with thrills but ultimately disappointing
Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley and Delphine Chanéac
Directed by Vincenzo Natali
The buzz about "Splice" has been almost universally positive. Manohla Dargis of the New York Times described it as “a lot of unnerving fun,” and David Edelstein, on Fresh Air, lauded it as “a strange and wonderful brew!” I agree wholeheartedly with these assessments…but only as they apply to the first half of the film. Let me explain. The film starts out entirely in a good direction; we’re ... more >
Hollywoodland
Film noir-styled thriller captures the imagination
Adrien Brody, Ben Affleck and Diane Lane
Directed by Allen Coulter
Allen Coulter’s Hollywoodland features wordly characters played by even wordlier stars (Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Ben Affleck and Bob Hoskins) who live in the fantastic land of Hollywood and get entangled in a crime intrigue. Hollywoodland is set up like a film noir and reminds of Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity or even Sunset Boulevard, with its jaded and disturbed characters turning to each ... more >